


With A Little Help From My Friends

by girl_next_door_writes



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 12:30:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22771621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girl_next_door_writes/pseuds/girl_next_door_writes
Summary: Realising you have feelings of the romantic variety for your friend and colleague can be awkward but what happens when your fellow teammates are eager for this ship to set sail?
Relationships: Clint Barton & Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	With A Little Help From My Friends

You couldn’t say exactly when it happened but… oh, who were you kidding? You knew the precise moment you fell completely head over heels in love with your teammate and no matter how much you tried to ignore your feelings they were just getting stronger. You’d been sat in a briefing, Steve had asked one of his many rhetorical questions and you couldn’t hold back your sarcastic answers any longer. As it turned out a certain colleague obviously felt the same way and at the exact time you spoke Steve got the same answer in stereo. Looking across the desk your eyes met Bartons and he had laughed, a genuine, body-shaking laugh that lit up his face and you felt your chest get tight. It’s not like you hadn’t thought he was cute before, I mean when you look at it not a single one of the Avengers had been hit by the ugly stick, but in that moment there was a sudden urge to leap across the desk and rip his clothes off. Unfortunately, from that point on you didn’t know how to act around him and that hadn’t gone unnoticed. 

Clint stood in the doorway, shaking his head and grinning as he watched you squeal and try to escape from Sam who was currently hurling cushions at you, determined to get playful revenge for some sarcastic slight you’d just made. Your laughter always made him smile and he found himself seeking you out around the compound to just hang out, but lately, you’d been a little elusive. As Sam climbed over the sofa to get to you, you turned and tripped over your own feet. Without a moment's hesitation, Clint caught you, his arms around your waist as if you’d just been dancing and he had dipped you. Your eyes met his and he held his breath. It was as if everything went into slow motion and the desire to kiss you washed over him. “Thanks Barton.” Sam chuckled as he grabbed you and threw you over his shoulder and the moment was broken but the memory of it lingered and the realization that he had genuine romantic feelings for you began to grow.

Nat was the first to realise something was up. Far too observant for her own good, she sat in a briefing and caught you glancing across at Clint with the hint of a smile before quickly looking away and trying to focus on that Tony was saying. Nat raised an eyebrow and decided to watch you for a while and sure enough, she caught your eyes falling on her friend several times, each with the same shy smile and looking away quickly before he could notice. She couldn’t contain the wide grin that broke out on her face as she transferred her attention to Clint who was watching you chewing on a pen and, as he let out a small sigh, she felt a plan forming. 

Thanks to Natasha Romanoff, experienced matchmaker and general interferer in her friends' love lives, you found yourself partnered with Clint more often for training and it was during one of these sessions that Sam picked up on the tension between you. He had been lifting weights and minding his own business when his attention was caught by you and Barton circling each other on the mat. It was then he realised that was pretty much all you were doing, neither of you wanting to make a move. Placing the weight down he continued to observe as Clint finally, rather tentatively, moved forward to grab your arm. The exchange was short and ended in his back hitting the mat and you apologising profusely. Sam smiled to himself, it was cute really, but maybe you both needed a different partner in order to get some actual training done. He wandered off to find Steve to suggest a change up. “You’re the second person to suggest that, I’ve already moved things round for Nat.” Steve frowned as Sam raised an eyebrow, so, Romanoff was in on this? Might be worth him going finding the redhead and teaming up.

It was at a movie night that Tony figured it out. Sam pulled you into his lap and Tony just caught the fraction of a second where Clint’s face dropped before he looked away and took a swig of his beer. Stark looked between you and Barton for a minute curiously before moving over and picking you up. “No, we have plenty of seats, I’m not letting feathers there set a precedent for lap sitting. Here, Barton’ll keep you safe.” He deposited you rather unceremoniously on the sofa next to Clint and stalked off to retrieve popcorn. He spent most of the movie watching you and Barton and the way you’d both react to the accidental brush of an arm of a leg and by the end of the evening, he was totally convinced he wanted this ship to sail. 

Nat found him on the roof of the compound and smiled to herself. “Hey, mind if I join you?” she sat next to him, their legs dangling off the edge of the building. 

“Hey.” He smiled and let out a sigh.

“So, you gonna tell her any time soon or..?” Nat drew out the last word and looked at her friend innocently, the panic on his face was amusing. “How long have we known each other now? You seriously think I wouldn’t notice you’ve fallen for our very lovely teammate?”

“I… just…” He stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck and looking out across the grounds. “Is it that obvious?”

“If it’s any consolation, I don’t think she knows.” Nat shrugged following his gaze with a smirk. 

“I don’t know what I’m doing Nat.” there was an edge of desperation in his voice that she hadn’t been anticipating and she looked at him curiously, silently waiting for him to continue. “Just being near her drives me crazy because there’s so much that I want to say but I can’t because this has the potential to completely fuck everything up. I want to just, I want to hold her but just brushing against her sends all these little electric shocks through me and if I did actually touch her I think I might just explode right there. I can’t think straight when she’s there and when she’s not I wonder where she is, who she’s with…” he let out a deep sigh and the look of pure defeat on his face had Natasha reaching out and putting her arm around her friend.

“I’m gonna say this because I love you okay. Grow a pair and fucking tell her how you feel.” She murmured, only to smile when she felt him chuckle.

You had been ‘helping’ Tony in his lab. And by ‘helping’ that meant holding two pieces of plastic together while the glue dried. “Barton.” Stark said, suddenly breaking the silence and causing your head to shoot up to look at him. “He’s good people.” Tony nodded at you and then returned to his work. You raised an eyebrow and watched him curiously, wondering where that had just come from. He glanced up to see you looking at him and he straightened up with a sigh. “You and Barton. We should make that happen. That clearer?” he asked as you shook your head and chuckled. Smiling affectionately at you, he bent down over his workbench again feeling he had made his point without having to have a deep and meaningful conversation.

Much to Nat, Tony and Sam's frustration, neither of you made any attempt to make a move. “I think it’s time we stepped it up, took some actual action.” Sam said as he leaned against the kitchen counter.

“I second that.” Tony nodded, pouring himself yet another cup of coffee.

“What ‘actual action’ are we suggesting boys?” Nat asked from the doorway with a raised eyebrow.

“We could send them on a fake mission and make them think they are in mortal danger and then they could confess their feelings.” Tony grinned. “I could rig some explosives and…”

“No. We are not nearly killing them.” Nat said firmly and Tony’s shoulders slumped.

“We could just lock them in a cupboard and tell them to sort it out?” Sam suggested with a shrug and immediately wished he hadn’t.

“What? Are they like 13? You want to give them 7 minutes in heaven? That’s your grand plan feathers? Really?” Tony was torn between amusement and disgust at such a plan.

“Leave it to me. I’ve got a plan that doesn’t involve anyone being locked anywhere or being blown up.” Nat looked at the boys pointedly and they nodded sheepishly, willing to go along with whatever she had up her sleeve.

When Sam had first come to you and said he needed to talk about something ‘but not here’ you had been intrigued. When he’d asked you to join him for dinner and ‘wear something pretty’ you had laughed and agreed to the subterfuge. Walking into the restaurant you smoothed down our dress and smiled at the server who walked you to your table where… Clint was sitting looking just as surprised to see you as you were him. Taking a seat you smiled at your companion. “I take it Sam’s not coming.”

“Or Nat.” he rolled his eyes and chuckled. There was a moment of awkward silence where you both studied the menu and as you glanced up over the top of it your eyes met his as he did exactly the same thing. Looking down you let out a nervous giggle and then put your menu down. 

“So, we know Sam and Nat are in on this, I suspect after the conversation I had with Tony a couple of days ago he’s got a hand here.” You smirk and shake your head, remembering Tony’s words.

“Well, this is quite a nice place so I wouldn’t discount Starks pull here.” Clint looked around and suddenly felt even more out of place and nervous.

“Hows about we head off?” Clint looked at you and his face dropped at your words. You quickly continued, not wanting to cut your time with him short. “Let’s go grab a slice and take a walk, better than sitting here trying to figure out this menu.” The smile you got in return had your heart flipping. He stood and offered you his hand which you took gratefully. As your fingers met his, a shock went up his arm and he pulled you close, your hands now coming to rest on his shoulders. 

“Let me take you on a date.” He whispered, his eyes searching yours.

“Lead the way.” You replied with the sweetest of smiles.


End file.
